More than 90 people from across the country have been arrested as part of a Leicestershire Police operation to tackle the sale and distribution of drugs.
Under Operation Lionheart, officers and staff have been working around the clock to target those believed to be involved in moving drugs in and out of Leicestershire – activity known as County Lines.
The enforcement phase of the operation began four weeks ago (on Tuesday 9 April) and to date 92 people have been arrested and 79 people charged – many of them on suspicion on supplying class A drugs.
This follows months of police work to gather information and evidence on those believed to be responsible.
During the last four weeks officers have also executed more than 130 warrants, recovering a number of drugs, weapons and thousands of pounds in cash.
They have travelled to seven other towns and cities to locate and arrest people suspected of selling and distributing drugs on the streets of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Chief Superintendent Adam Streets, head of Local Policing, said: “This operation has taken a huge amount of planning and resources but the results so far have been phenomenal.
Months of gathering information on those we think are dealing and supplying drugs on our streets has led to 79 people being charged, many with drug and drug-related offences. They will now be brought before the courts to be dealt with.
“Operation Lionheart is very much an ongoing effort to crackdown on County Lines activity and I would continue to urge anyone who suspects this is happening in their community to report it. You are the eyes and ears of the community you live in and information you have, no matter how small it may seem, may be the missing piece of a jigsaw we need before taking action.
“There are many signs that could indicate someone you know is being exploited through County Lines activity, particularly young or vulnerable people. If someone appears to become increasing isolated or missing from home or school, possibly has unexplained injuries or new clothes, technology or an influx of cash that you can’t account for - these could all be indicators.
“If you suspect something, report it.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting incident 225 of 2 April.
For more information on County Lines, and how to spot the signs of it happening in your area, visit
https://www.leics.police.uk/countylines
Source: Leicestershire Police
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